Kendra Kay Friar is an Adjunct Professor at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Previously, Kendra taught elementary general music in the Portland, Oregon, metro region and served as Associate Conductor of the Pacific Youth Choir, where she directed two resident choirs and supervised the neighborhood choir program. In 2021, Kendra received the Excellence in Elementary Music Education Award from Oregon Music Educators Association (OMEA).
Kendra serves as the Academic Editor of the Journal of General Music Education (JGME) and as a member of NAfME’s Equity Committee. She is also the President of Southern Washington and Oregon Kodály Educators (SWOKE), an affiliate chapter of the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE). Kendra has presented sessions and webinars at national, regional, and state conferences, most recently at ACDA’s 2025 National Conference and Iowa ACDA’s 2025 Summer Symposium. Her practitioner-focused work has been published in Music Educators Journal, Journal of General Music Education, Teaching Music Magazine, and Lorenz Publications’ Activate! magazine. Kendra is also a collaborative pianist who performs regularly with the professional ensemble Portland Phoenix Chamber Choir.
Kendra is a University of Illinois Ed.D. student majoring in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership – Diversity and Equity Concentration. She holds music education degrees from The University of Texas (M.M.) and The University of Illinois (B.S., Elementary-General Specialization). Her research interests include critical historical discourse analysis; music education history; cultural plurality in music education curricula; and Scott Joplin and ragtime music.
